Not for no reason, mind you. As I explained in the piece I wrote that day shortly after the event wrapped, it feels important to be skeptical of a product like this when it seems too good to be true. Perhaps I’m jaded, but after nearly a decade covering all sorts of tech, I’ve learned that every time something feels like a leap forward into the future, it’s usually at most a tiny step, and sometimes a complete stumble.
My comparison last week was Microsoft’s own Kinect, as back when it was called “Project Natal,” the original preview video showcased a whole host of super-futuristic uses that looked absolutely incredible. Perfectly motion-controlled games! Physical items scanned into digital objects! Sentient AI children! And yet, when all was said and done, the only feature shown in these early demo videos that works as intended today, I would argue, is facial recognition sign-in. Now, Kinect is the reason the Xbox One flopped at launch, and has been relegated to the “cone of shame” department of Microsoft’s hardware offerings.
But over the last week, I’ve been reading a lot about the HoloLens, including first impressions from a number of outlets that have had it strapped to their faces in live Microsoft demo sessions. The result? Either Microsoft has crafted a perfect demo hiding the product’s potential issues, or it really is all it claims to be and more. Just listen to some of this praise:
“Microsoft’s HoloLens is flat-out magical. 2015, the year that sci-fi becomes real.” – Ars Technica
“It’s true innovation, which is something Microsoft has lacked during its obsession with protecting Windows. It’s also another example of an experience that takes the complex technology out of the way, leaving you to experience what really matters.” – The Verge
“HoloLens delivers a robust and surreal augmented reality that will leave even a VR skeptic slack-jawed.” – CNET
“But if we’re talking just pure promise—and we are right now—what I saw during my small taste of Microsoft’s take on augmented reality was incredibly arresting. Concepts previously limited to science-fiction (Holodeck, anyone?) could become reality after all. If devices like the HoloLens take off, virtual reality could become more of a route for those seeking escape, while augmented reality expands what we already know and take for granted.” – IGN
I could probably keep going with about a dozen more of these, but all have the same impression. The HoloLens is magical, sci-fi, all our wildest dreams brought to life, at last.
You can say that people say this about every new piece of technology, but digging through the archives, demo-ers were a bit more subdued about Microsoft’s Project Natal (now Kinect) when they first tried it back in 2010:
“For right now, Nintendo is still the undisputed champion of motion-controlled gaming. Microsoft’s Project Natal seems to work well but has only been demoed in a handful of highly controlled situations.” – CNET
“Obviously, Microsoft is still working out kinks and perfecting this thing, but what we saw at our demo (and super-secret demo) was mighty convincing.” – Engadget
“For now, what I can say is that the hands-on demos worked great, and Molyneux’s project could be a killer app [ed. note: hah!] . But who knows how the final product will be received.” – Wired
Pictured: Molyneux’s killer app
“Project Natal is the vision of gaming that’s danced through people’s heads for decades—gaming without the abstraction of controllers, using your body and natural movements…I haven’t been quite this blown away by a tech demo in a long time. It looked neat onstage at Microsoft’s keynote. Seeing it, feeling it in person, makes me want to believe that this what the future of gaming looks like—no buttons, no joysticks, no wands.” – Gizmodo
While that last item reads more like the current HoloLens press, generally speaking, reactions aren’t quite as over the moon. And the demos for HoloLens seem to be a bit more in-depth than what was showcased when Kinect debuted.
If you want to keep going, you can compare HoloLens to Google Glass, probably a more apt juxtaposition. In that sense, there is no comparison in press reaction. Though there was some positive press about the product at times, most of it can probably be summed up by this Venture Beat piece called “Google Glass hands-on: This isn’t and never will be a good device for consumers.”
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As a Google Glass owner, I can immediately see how it will be incredibly useful for so many kinds of people. Doctors, mechanical engineers, any sort of field worker….But for us layfolk, the device only serves to make us look awfully nerdy, to make us economic targets, to make us less aware of the world around us, and to leave us more disconnected than ever from the real people we encounter every day.”
So even though the HoloLens should also make us “less aware of the world around us” and “leave us disconnected from real people,” a major distinction is that the majority of HoloLensing seems to be done in the home. For now, at least.
The tech industry is practically made up entirely of hype much of the time, so it remains good advice to be skeptical of something like the HoloLens until it’s on our faces without a Microsoft rep guiding us through a calculated demo. But the fact remains that even among a relatively jaded tech press, the HoloLens is really standing out in terms of flesh and blood first impressions, more so than products that would seem to be cautionary tales of failure like the Kinect and Google Glass. I’d say the praise is more in line with what we’ve seen the Oculus Rift receive for years now, but that comparison doesn’t tell us much given that despite a promised coming wave of VR revolution, we’re still waiting for a consumer product that can prove itself.
I hope HoloLens is as good as it looks, and as good as many in the press believe it to be. But in this industry, it’s hard to trust after so many past heartbreaks.
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